Pakistani students returning from Iran on Thursday described a tense and frightening atmosphere, saying they heard gunshots and accounts of rioting and violence while being confined to their university campuses and barred from leaving dormitories in the evenings.
The unrest in Iran initially erupted over soaring prices before evolving into one of the most serious challenges faced by the incumbent establishment in recent years. As protests expanded, Tehran sought to deter repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to intervene in support of anti-government demonstrators.
“During nighttime, we would sit inside, and we would hear gunshots,” said Shahanshah Abbas, a fourth-year student at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, while speaking at Islamabad airport. He said students were instructed not to leave the campus and to remain inside their dormitories after 4pm.
Abbas added that although there was no visible disturbance inside the university, interactions with local residents painted a grim picture. “The surrounding areas, like banks and mosques, were damaged and set on fire, so things were really bad,” he said.
Another student, Arslan Haider, in his final year of studies, said movement outside the university was strictly prohibited. “We were not allowed to go out of the university. The riots would mostly start later in the day,” he said, adding that an internet blackout left him unable to contact his family for days.
Haider said international calls were later restored, prompting many students to return home after their families expressed concern.
A Pakistani diplomat in Tehran said the embassy received calls from many of the estimated 3,500 Pakistani students in Iran, as internet shutdowns disrupted communication. “They contact the embassy from local phone numbers and ask us to inform their families,” the diplomat said.
Rimsha Akbar, a student from Isfahan who was in the middle of her final-year examinations, said international students were kept safe but were regularly warned by locals about violence elsewhere. “Iranians would tell us that shelling and tear gas had been used and that many people were killed,” she said.
Despite signs that protests may have eased in recent days, returning students said the uncertainty and restrictions left them deeply anxious, prompting many to cut short their stay and return to Pakistan.
